Firestone destination LE3

Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
27
Location
Canada
Hey guys.

I was searching for a new set of tires for my wifes 2011 Dodge Journey Crew 225/55/19 after doing some research I came across the Firestone destination le2 which had alot of positive reviews. Anway I go to order them and the guy on the phone says I'll give you the new version le3 for same price. I am like sure I asked the difference he said longer tread life and they are arnt going to be making the le2 anymore. That being said do you think they will be better then the le2 or should I just have him order the cooper srx same tire I have on my grand cherokee...

Thanks for the input!
 
Too hard for anyone to tell you if they'll be better.
The LE2's are/were certainly a good tire. Everyone whom I have recommended them to, loved them. And if Firestone is now replacing them with a 3rd generation, they may have improved a portion of the tire that didn't do well in objective testing compared to its competition. That could be tread life and other factors too.
 
I haven't gotten my hands on any LE3 yet to see if Firestone actually made the siping full length in those tires. The LE2 is notorious for poor all season and wet traction once they start to wear down a little. I see they went from a 520ab rating to a 700ab in your size so life should be better than the previous LE2. Hopefully a similar silica compound was still used for traction in the new version.
A General RT43 is also rated at 700aa in that size and would perform better in all season based on my experience. A Conti LX25 and Truecontact tour would fall in the same vein as well as high wearing tires that perform well. The RT43 and Truecontact are both touring tires verses the others being "suv" or highway type. FWIW
The SRX isn't a bad tire either and will wear in similar fashion to the other tires mentioned. They tend to handle well especially with the straighter channels.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Olas
look at the treadwear rating - treadwear is inversely proportional to grip.

Ah …. Mmmm ….. Not exactly.

When it comes to tread compounds, it's a 3 way - Rolling Resistance/Treadwear/Traction.

But it gets even more complicated if you factor in tread pattern, as tread pattern has an effect on all 3.

And it is possible through research to improve the treadwear without sacrificing the other 2 (and vice versa!)
 
Last edited:
Seems like, recommendations for LE's are up and down. But RT43's are generally positive, with complaints being more about being squishy and not a performance tire. Not sure what you are after but in general I recommend RT43's for any sort of pedestrian driving.
 
My wifes Sienna loves the General RT43. I'm just hitting 50K miles in them and they are just getting to the wear bars. Siennas are big and heavy and known to eat tires so this is impressive. Especially considering the OEM Michelin MXV4s only lasted 30K. No change in drive performance.

That said if you already got the Firestone LE3s more than likely you will be happy with them. The LE and LE2 were both good tires so I have no reason to think the LE3 would be any worse. This was for a LT application. I would imagine they would be a little rough for a suv.
 
Last edited:
From the Firestone website. If this is to be believed, then it sound like they've made changes, and added some badly needed full depth sipes. Tread design is largely the same.


A new spin on a favorite with its improved TractionTechâ„¢ Technology; now has even more consistent wear over the life of the tire. In addition to improved traction, this tire's Hydro-Gripâ„¢ Technology offers enhanced water evacuation in wet conditions, keeping you and your vehicle safe. The full depth 3D sipes help navigate snowy weather and perform throughout the life of the tire tread.



1583877217501.png
 
Last edited:
I had the Le2 on my Rogue Select., While they were "just ok" I would not run them again

They rode HARD as a ROCK. And I mean hard. Horrendous impact harshness.

I even dropped the placard TP by 3 lbs and it rode hard, still..

I did like the factory Conti's much better, though they got pretty skittish in the winter when 3/4 worn
 
full length siping will help. We had 2 sets and really liked them in dry conditions but not wet/frozen. agreement with above, the were a hard tire - so they handled well if you were feeling aggressive in the SUV, but they did transmit all the bumpz.
 
Back in 2008 my Tacoma came with the original Destination LE. Great Tire. Bought a set of LE2's and they were horrible. Rough riding and not good in wet and snow like the original. It's like they were made of plastic rubber not the real stuff.
 
Have an 05 Tacoma that came with Destination LE and they were very good. Only took them off because they were 10 years old, although they showed no cracking.
 
have the Destination LE2s on a 2007 F150 and they seem to ride just fine compared to other tires I've had on a 2000 Escalade and a 2002 Avalanche...they've done fine in the rain and snow round the ChicagoLand area (mostly in 2WD) for the year I've had them...better of course in 4WD when needed...

they would not have been my first choice but I had to replace 3 from the original owner, the 4th was brand new when I got it and 3 new were far less than 4 of most anything I could get for the price at the time and the Firestone Destination LE2s had a good reputation on several F150 forums so I went with them...not disappointed in their performance

Bill
 
Avoid the Firestone LE2 and LE3. I somehow made the mistake of buying them twice before and just bought a car with them on it. They ride bad and I have had to replace them after 10K miles each time as they get worse and worse. They will shake and vibrate. The General RT 43 H has been excellent on two cars and they aren't even expensive. I only get about 40K miles on any tire, and these go about that long. I am thinking of trying the T rated tire as tread is deeper and mileage is longer. I have never seen a bad review on the General RT 43.
 
Oh, another point. The Firestone Destination LE2 will flat spot everytime you park it for a couple hours. By the time the flat spot works its way out with warming up, the trip is over.
 
Originally Posted by sierraskibum
Avoid the Firestone LE2 and LE3. I somehow made the mistake of buying them twice before and just bought a car with them on it. They ride bad and I have had to replace them after 10K miles each time as they get worse and worse. They will shake and vibrate. The General RT 43 H has been excellent on two cars and they aren't even expensive. I only get about 40K miles on any tire, and these go about that long. I am thinking of trying the T rated tire as tread is deeper and mileage is longer. I have never seen a bad review on the General RT 43.


So it appears the LE3's are new and improved. Did you have both? Or just generally bashing? How many miles on that car you bought with them on it? Let's get down to the details-it's more fun that way!

Your comments remind me of the guy who was reviewing a certain tire on a Mazda Protege with 150,000 miles on it (with no suspension replacement) telling us how rough a tire rode....I think you "somehow" left out some details.
 
Last edited:
never had flat spotting on my Firestone Destination LE2s on the Ford F150...it's not a daily driver and sits for periods of time much longer than a couple hours...

I've not had any construction issues with these tires...good luck with your choice

Bill
 
Originally Posted by Mattz
Hey guys.

I was searching for a new set of tires for my wifes 2011 Dodge Journey Crew 225/55/19 after doing some research I came across the Firestone destination le2 which had alot of positive reviews. Anway I go to order them and the guy on the phone says I'll give you the new version le3 for same price. I am like sure I asked the difference he said longer tread life and they are arnt going to be making the le2 anymore. That being said do you think they will be better then the le2 or should I just have him order the cooper srx same tire I have on my grand cherokee...

Thanks for the input!

I had LE2's on my Jeep Grand Cherokee. I felt very "meh" about them. That kindof biases me against the LE3, but tech has come a LONG ways since LE2, so maybe not fair.
 
Back
Top